When It Comes Around, It Stays Around
by HungerGamesFan11
Summary: Let's just say Ally Dawson isn't normal. Let's just say she's a demigod-a Greek one, to be exact. When Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena, comes to take her to Camp Half-Blood, Ally has to figure out who she is-what she is, and whether her friends are meant to be left behind in the monster dust.
1. A Baseball Cap & A Sharpened Pencil

(Okay, this is just an idea I had last night while eating dinner at a Mexican restaurant, while reading FanFiction on my smartphone…so here it is. If you like it, review/leave a comment to let me know if I should continue with it.)

ALLY:

"Allyson Dawson? That's your name, isn't it?" A girl holding a pencil, and a baseball cap, stepped from the shadows of the dark music room. "My name is Annabeth Chase."

Ally was assuming to just come to Sonic Boom, turn the power back on—after that nasty electrical storm earlier tonight—and text Trish to tell her she was coming back over, after she called her dad. He had woken her up at Trish's, where she was sleeping over, and told her about the electrical storm—lucky for her, Trish's dad and JJ had built a backup generator for Wilderness Scouts, and her and Trish had already been sleeping with the lights out, so she hadn't noticed—and asked her if she could please go to the store, and turn the power back on. She had hastily agreed, but already she knew it was a bad idea.

"Please leave. Now. Just don't hurt me. You can even have my chicken fingers!" Ally tossed her purse to Annabeth, who crouched down to the purse, and threw it back to her.

"Listen, don't be afraid. The scary part has yet to come. Listen, you are a Greek demigod, who's been unclaimed for the last 16 years, quite an interesting case really, no monsters have ever come near you. I've come here to take you to a safe haven, called Camp Half-Blood."

Ally exhaled. "This is a lot to take in." She wrapped her blue sweatshirt farther around her body, as if warding off evil with a security blanket. "What do you mean, demigod?"

"It means you have one godly parent, from Greek "mythology" as they put it, but the gods are very real, Ally. Very real—and they sometimes have children with mortals—normal people. Although your dad seems very abnormal sometimes…but that's not the point."

"So, you just expect me to leave—drop everything, and disappear?" Ally was on the verge of a nervous breakdown—she even might start chewing her hair again.

"Yes," Annabeth patted the girl's arm, not knowing what to do at the moment. Her mind was on Percy, her demigod boyfriend, who was also the only demigod son of Poseidon. "You have to—for your own protection."  
"But—Trish, and Dez—and Austin. They'll be devastated." Ally's voice trembled.

"Not if you don't tell them you're gone." Annabeth opened the practice room door. "Come on, Ally. We can't wait forever."  
Ally felt like a different person as she walked to the door. Annabeth followed closely behind, holding her pencil up, like a weapon. "Why do you have a pencil, anyway?"  
" Pencil? Well—" The music store's doors burst open, pushing the doors aside, and smashing the panes of glass inside them. Bits of clear sharpness flew toward Ally, and Annabeth, who pushed Ally behind her as she raised her pencil point at—mall shoppers?  
"Annabeth, what's wrong with those people?" Ally put her hands to her face, rubbing her eyes, to see if she was in a dream. One lady, holding a new hairdryer, brandished it like a sword. "We are not shoppers. We are from the old times, long forgotten. We are—"

"Eidolons." Annabeth said. "I haven't forgotten you, not when we just defeated Gaea."

"You were the one who put The Earth Mother back into slumber?" The eidolons—or whatever Annabeth just called them—were now really ticked off. They narrowed their eyes, still filled with golden, and put their various hair care products to use. Hair curlers were flung at the demigods—one hit Ally sideways in the stomach—even flat irons, among other things. But then the worst happened—the eido-whatevers charged, but now Ally could see those weren't ordinary hair dryers and flat irons. It was like her vision had been missing something big here, but had suddenly shifted into greater detail. They were actually swords, made of shining bronze, and others, made of sparkling metal. "Whoa!" Ally yelled.

"What?" Annabeth shouted back to her. "What's wrong?"

"The-they're holding weapons. And their eyes are _golden._"

"You—you mean, you couldn't see through the Mist?" Annabeth narrowed her eyes. "This must be Hecate's work. Ever since we came back from our quest to stop Gaea, we've learned that the Mist is more complicated than it seems. My friend, Hazel, can even manipulate it."

Annabeth sprang at them, swinging her pencil—now a dagger, in its unMist-ified form. She dove low, hitting the ground just by a inch short of a hair-sword. "Ally, think! Use your instincts!" So Ally did the best thing she was good at: telling rule-breakers off. "Excuse me, ma'am, but there's no sword fighting in the store."  
"We don't care about rules!"  
"But what about Gaea? Wouldn't she be mad if she heard you not following orders?"

"What orders?"  
"The ones that said 'Do Not Disturb'."  
Annabeth crept toward the fire alarm, wearing her Cap of Invisibility. Tugging it down with all her might, the alarm went off like a giant police siren, shocking the eidolons from their bodily states. "Understand this, Allyson Dawson, and Annabeth Chase, a thought can be easily erased as it is brought to mind." And with that, the eidolons raced through the broken doors, into the dark night.


	2. Herbert Brown

**(I wrote this on my grandma's iPad, and I had to paste it to Word, but the stupid formatting won't let me indent, so I'm really sorry if this chapter makes zero sense. Bye now, and hopefully enjoy!)**

ANNABETH:

Annabeth watched Ally, who was only staring out the window, at the back of the Strawberry Fields van. She felt bad for the girl, who looked heartbroken, as Miami blew past. "Ally," she finally said quietly. "Why don't you tell me about your friends?" She remembered seeing a Trish come up on Ally's phone screen a while back. Ally hadn't answered.  
Ally sniffed as she turned to look at Annabeth. "What do you want to know?"  
"What do you guys like to do together, for starters?"  
"Well, we like to make music. Trish is the manager, for both me and Austin, Dez is the filmmaker, and I'm the songwriter, although I got over my stage fright a while back, so I guess I'm technically a double threat now." Ally cracked a weak smile.  
"Who's this Austin you keep mentioning?" Annabeth had a feeling he wasn't just a friend to Ally.

"He's my friend-one of my best friends actually. We're music partners. After he stole my song a while back, I became his songwriter." Ally bit her lip.  
"You have feelings for him." Annabeth observed.  
"What? No, I don't."  
"I can see it in your eyes. You've got it bad, by the looks of it."  
"Okay, maybe I do, Annabeth, but what am I supposed to do about it? It's not like I can go back there, and tell him that, and then disappear forever. Besides, we already dated once, and look where that landed us. It got awkward, and now we're friends again."  
"I was my boyfriend's best friend once." She smiled at the memory of their underwater kiss, so many months ago. "You just have to take a risk, and tell him. Courage is all you need."  
"He's the one who practically gives me courage. Austin sang with me at my mom's book release party, when I didn't think I could get over my stage fright. He was my first kiss-" Ally blushed at the latter, "and he makes me feel like-like, there's nothing else I need to be, but myself."  
"You think that isn't proof enough?" Annabeth said. Like magic, Ally's phone rang loudly: 'I think about you, every morning when I open my eyes, I think about you, every night when I turn out the light, I think-" Ally blushed as she answered the phone, and looked straight into Annabeth's eyes.

AUSTIN:  
"Ally?" He practically yelled into the phone, when she finally picked up the phone. She had been ignoring Trish's calls for the last hour, and hadn't come back from Sonic Boom, so after a frantic phone conversation with her, Austin had agreed to try and reach Ally. "Ally, are you there?"  
"No, sorry, this is Herbert Brown." Ally laughed. "Yes, Austin, it's me."  
"Where are you? Trish says you're not at Sonic Boom, and you never called her or your dad, and that you never came back to her house."  
"I'm gone, Austin. I'm not in Miami anymore."  
"Then where are you going?"  
"To a safe place. Listen, Austin, you can't call me anymore. You can't text me anymore."  
"Why not? Ally, are you okay?"  
"You just can't anymore, okay? I'll be all right."  
"But I won't be. Ally, I need you." Ally was silent on the other end of the line. Austin took a deep breath in. "I need you here with me."  
"I can't, Austin. I can't come back-Annabeth! What's going on?"  
"Ally, we have to jump! Hurry!"  
"Austin-I have to go. I'll try to let you-"  
And the line went dead.  
"Ally, don't-" But all Austin heard was the ominous dial tone of a dead line. She was gone. And Austin would have to find her.

ALLY:  
She clicked END as fast as she could. Hooking her duffel bag and purse over her shoulder, Annabeth pulled open the back van door, while still navigating the road with one hand on the steering wheel. "Ally, jump now!"  
Ally launched herself onto the side of the highway, rolling into the gravel. Annabeth soon followed, landing solidly on her feet. "Piece of cake."  
Ally sat up, coughing. "Not really. Why did we have to jump anyway?"  
"Because of that." Annabeth pointed down the road. Ally followed the finger, to a sight she really wanted to unsee. A giant laughed loudly, as he lifted his huge meaty foot, and stepped on the Camp Half-Blood/Strawberry Fields van, pushing the metal frame, and the tires into road pancake. "I think I get it now."


	3. Runaway Friends, Incorporated

ALLY:

"Here, take a dagger!" Annabeth thrust one at her. "This may not be your weapon of choice, specifically, but it's all we have at the moment!" Ally took it in her right hand. The hand was shaking, as it held the leather handle. "You'll figure it out. When you have dyslexia, it keeps you on your toes in battle."

"But I don't have dyslexia!" Ally cried. "I wore glasses for the longest time but that's it, okay!" She shouldn't have screamed. Ally clamped her hands over her mouth as she realized the giant had turned toward her voice.

"What was that, little demigod?" The giant asked. "My name is Gration, son of Gaea, not Glasses." He wore a green tunic top, and leggings, with sensible hunting boots, if the boots weren't covered with deer heads—well, they looked like deer heads at first glance, but they were really human faces, with antlers. His hair was braided with animals and forests of trees.

"You're the bane of Artemis," Annabeth piped up finally, "you betrayed the gods, so Artemis took her arrows and—"

"Shot me, yes." Gration rolled his eyes, "but that is a minor detail, because now I have reformed, and am back from the most horrid depths of Tartarus."

"Weren't you there during The Giant War, as part of Gaea's army though?" Annabeth asked.

"No, unfortunately," Gration's face twisted into a pout. "I was fully reformed, and my brothers decided not to tell me when you pesky kids attacked. They get to have all the fun, but yet, they can't share any details. But now they're just stupid dust piles." But he soon brightened. "But now I get to have some fun! Slaying two puny demigods will be fun! Especially one that has the mark of Artemis!"

"What do you mean?" Ally asked, curious.

"You were saved." The giant smiled, his ugly teeth in full view.

"No, I was saved. Artemis's hunters saved my friends once, when we were ambushed, saving others of our kind." Annabeth clarified.

"You were already gone." The giant laughed again. "You only bear the Mark of Athena, but this one—" he pointed at Ally, "her life was saved by an eternal hunter, also my greatest enemy, and so I am sorry, young ones. Goodbye now." He raised his bow, nocked an arrow, and shot.

But Ally was already on her feet, jumping out of the way, and inadvertently latching onto the giant's leg. She didn't know what to do, but take out the dagger and begin to climb. She pushed the dagger farther in the giant's leg, and lifted herself up. She continued that process, until the giant finally noticed. Ally thought he was just thickheaded, but then she realized the only big thing distracting him was on the ground—Annabeth. She watched her new friend for a moment, admiring how she never managed to stay still. Annabeth was there one moment, and gone the next. It was making the giant really mad—what a waste of explosive arrow tips!

"Get off, tiny one!" Gration shook his leg, as if doing the potty dance, but one-legged. "Get off, get off, GET OFF!"

ANNABETH:

Now she knew what to do. She jumped onto Gration's other leg, and began to haul herself up, like Ally had. The dagger drew ichor from deep within the giant, spewing out at Annabeth, for once, didn't move fast enough. It washed over her in waves, giving her the appearance of a caramelized candy. She spit golden liquid out of her mouth fast. "Gross!" Annabeth wiped her mouth with a tanned arm. Grabbing the slick handle of her dagger tighter, she dug into the giant's flesh, and yanked it out methodically as she kept climbing.

Finally the hem of his tunic was in hand's reach. She wasn't sure what she was going to do, but luckily, somewhere inside, Annabeth had a plan. So she jumped. But the giant wasn't done yet. He grabbed hold of her in midair, and shook her like a rag doll. "You think you can just jump?" He laughed again. His laugh was seriously not getting any better. That was the last thought Annabeth had before she was swallowed whole—by the bane of Artemis.

AUSTIN:

He grabbed his duffel bag, full of clothes, and snacks for the road. Pushing them into the back of the car, he slammed the door closed. The sun was barely coming up over Miami, the sky full of pink, red, orange, and purple. Austin had written a note to his parents; texts were sent to Trish and Dez. But his phone was turned off, sitting on the dashboard already. Austin was not getting swayed from this. He needed to find her. Ally was—Ally was like his lifeline. If she isn't here, he wasn't alive. He needed her, possibly even more than he, himself realized.

Looking once more at his house, he walked around to the driver's seat, opened the door, buckled up, slammed it shut, and put the key in the ignition. Rolling down his driveway, Austin looked back once, but never again. Miami wasn't his home anymore; his home was where the heart is, and that was where Ally was, wherever she was.

As he merged onto the Interstate, he turned his phone on. He realized that what he might be doing was crazy, but he needed to know if Ally called or texted. He thought of her last words before she hung up.

_ "I'll let you—"  
_ He was guessing the last word was meant to be 'know', so he was just growing antsy. But when he flicked the POWER button, he was greeted with not Ally, but 20 missed calls from Trish, Dez, and his mom and dad, and about half that many text messages. He scrolled through them fast, not really caring about what they said.

_ "Austin, sweetie, come home this instant!" ~Mom_

_ "Young man, you are grounded for a month when you get home." ~Mom and Dad_

_ "SO, WHEN YOU FIND ALLY, ARE YOU GOING TO TELL HER HOW YOU FEEL?" ~TRISH_

_ "WHERE ARE YOU? I'M COMING WITH." ~TRISH_

_ "TELL ALLY I MISS HER, SINCE YOU WON'T ANSWER ME." ~TRISH_

_ "I'm happy for you, buddy." ~Dez_

_ "I knew you still loved her." ~Dez_

_ "We're right behind you." ~Dez_

_ "NO, REALLY, LOOK BEHIND YOU!" ~TRISH_

Austin whipped around in his chair. He saw Trish and Dez waving from the car behind him. Dez waved giddily, while Trish looked mad as a bull. He sighed, and finally clicked CALL. She picked up immediately. "Hi, this is Trish, from Runaway Friends, Inc."

"Hey. Has Ally talked to you?"

"Not since last night," she grumbled, "isn't this why we're on our trip?"

"Okay, I did, and I heard her talking to this girl named Annabeth. Have any idea who she is?"

"Nope."

"She said Ally needed to jump." Austin said. "And then Ally hung up."

"So Ally's in trouble?" Trish asked.

"Aren't we all?" Austin laughed. And that was only the beginning of a long conversation.


	4. Just A Dustpile Now

(So, sorry for the late update, but I have limited internet/computer access, because at my mother's house, I don't have a computer, but at my father's, I do. I mean, I have a smartphone, but I can't write on that…I don't think.)

AUSTIN:

We find our first clue at a truck stop, somewhere between Miami, and the Florida border. The name of the town, of course, I have no clue. But Trish is busy next to me, tapping her fingers on her phone screen. She is actually searching the Internet for clues about Annabeth Chase. And finds nothing, except for one article, written by a Dr. Fredrick Chase, on Greek gods, and he apparently lives in San Francisco. Nothing about an Annabeth in his life, but why would there be? It's a research paper, not a biography.

But it's the TV that gives us the heads up, instead. A grainy phone video comes into view on screen, and the reporter begins her spiel. "Two teenagers were captured on this passerby's phone, climbing and vandalizing a historical and monumentally tall statue, outside of Bridgeport**[1]** this morning. Police are on its way, to arrest and charge these teens with vandalism, and destruction of property. For any information regarding these teenagers identities, or any links to this crime, please call our news hotline, at 555-620-0125**[2]**." The news rolls the camera video one more time, just for good measure. And then it catches my eye. The hair color is unmistakable. It's a dark brown, but fades into blonde at the ends. Then the face turns. It's Ally. She looks terrified, as she looks at the other girl, on the other side of the statue.

It must be Annabeth. Ally's kidnapper. My fists clench, and I think I actually feel my skin turn white, as I push back from the table. The wooden chair makes a screeching noise; I head for the door, and feel all eyes on me. As I pull open my car door, Trish and Dez have caught up to me, and asking me questions, like, where I'm going, what am I doing, and why I did I leave like that.

"I'm going to Bridgeport. I'm going to save Ally, because we may not have much time." They get in their car, and we barrel down the Interstate. Towards Bridgeport, toward Ally, towards everything else that matters to me in the world at this exact moment.

ALLY:

So…my new "friend"—I guess, I'm really not sure—just got eaten. Fun times in the life of Ally Dawson couldn't get any more fun. I'm terrified, I'm ticked off, and I'm hungry. Life couldn't get much worse—until they showed up. "Ally!" Dez calls from his open window, "we're here to rescue you!" Gration laughs—of course he does. If he laughs again—I dare him to—I will use this dagger for more than just climbing. I mean it now.

Austin jumps out of his car, not even waiting for it to even coast to a stop. He stares at me; he stares at Gration. He shakes his head. "Whoa." he finally says. "Is that what I think—" I give him the tiniest sliver of a nod, and a glance at Gration, who opens his mouth. Too late. I've already jumped. Austin's distracted him long enough for me to make my move. Slicing a large gap in his abdomen, I keep cutting; it's gushing gold.

But finally, I see her. Annabeth, not dead but alive. Not ruined by a giant's stomach acid. (Do they have any?) She's hanging by a thread. Her dagger was lodged in a piece of his stomach walls, just inches away from Indigestion Land. But she's okay. Just as I reach in to help her out, the giant disappears. Literally. In fact, he's no longer a giant; he's a big, ol', stupid dust pile, just like his brothers.

Now it's my turn to laugh. I burst out giggling; so does Annabeth. But I soon realize my friends aren't staring at me, because I'm awkward, like usual, but because they're angry at me, for leaving.

But Austin isn't focused on me. His eyes narrow at the sight of Annabeth, still covered in—ichor, I think she called it? Finally, he speaks up. "Did you kidnap Ally?"

"Austin!" I scream at him; I don't care about my feelings right now, how dare he ask such a thing! "How dare you! Annabeth is my friend. She's helping me get to a safe place."

"Ally, it's alright." Annabeth awkwardly pats me on the shoulder. "Austin has a right to ask. Besides, we've all been through a lot."

Trish edges toward the giant's dusty remains hesitantly, a side of Trish I've never seen before. "Are you okay?"

"Better than most days." I say with a slow, shy smile. She doesn't return it.

"Tell me the truth." Dez asks with a seriousness that I haven't ever seen take over his face before. I look at Annabeth for confirmation. She gives a tiny nod, but her eyes flash with uncertainty.

"Guys," I start, "I am a Greek demigod, that hasn't been claimed yet by my godly parent. My father might not be my real father, my mother might not be my real mother. Annabeth is also a demigod, her mother is the goddess of wisdom, Athena. She is here to escort me to a save haven, for people like me, called Camp Half-Blood. Demigods are often chased by monsters, like the one you just saw, and can't often use cell phones, because it attracts monsters, and well—they can kill you. I gesture at Annabeth.

My friends stare blankly at me, still computing what I just said. Dez is the first to give me a hug. He wades through the monster dust, and wraps his arms around me, catching me in surprise. Dez has never hugged me before. Slowly, I wrap my arms around him too. After a few seconds, he lets go, and pulls back. I see that he is crying. "Goodbye, Ally." He whispers it quietly, so I can barely catch the words myself. He backs away, back toward the car where he came from

Trish eventually takes a step toward me, and hugs me tightly. She cries on my shirt, into my shoulder. Eventually, I feel tears running down my own face. Trish is my best friend; I am afraid to let go. I don't until she does. Trish runs to Dez's car without a single word.

Austin comes last. He doesn't cry, but I still do. We must stand there for minutes, just crying, and breathing, and holding. He puts his head on top of mine. It's like forever passes between us, but it doesn't. We both let go at the same time. "Ally," he says, "take these." Austin holds the silver car keys out to me.

"No, Austin, I can't. That's your car."  
"But you're my Ally." He unfolds my hand; leaves the keys in the middle of my palm, and takes his duffel bag from his car's trunk. Opening Dez's, he slides the bag in, shuts it, and stands there, staring at me for a moment. Then he crosses to the back seat door, opens it, and gets in. For a moment, the car's still, and I feel a shred of hope that my friends might stay. But then, they're gone, speeding towards Miami.

Annabeth leads me to the car, takes the keys, and I cry in the passenger's seat, until we cross the Georgia border, where I fall into a first demigod-dream filled sleep.

ATHENA:

I watch the girl cry. I watch her friends cry. Her father puts on a brave face, he has to tell his ex-wife today. And I make my decision. I stand up from my quarters, and head to Hera. She asked my consent, and I believe this decision is wise, the wisest of the other.

It caused me indecision, and a dilemma. These things I never experience. I had to weigh each choice with precision, and my own wisdom. It caused me a splitting headache for days on end, but now after watching, after seeing, I know it is right to do. It will cause Ally pain, but in the end, she will prevail.

"Hera!" I call out to her. "Listen to my decision!"  
Father's wife has never been my favorite, but she is smart, and clever. She helped save our kind, Greek and Roman. And now, she must help me. Hera straightens her white dress, as she walks toward me. Her black hair is curly, but not unruly.

"Yes, wise one?" She pauses right in front of me. "Your decision has been made?"  
"Yes, Hera, I have," I pause for a second to rethink, to recollect my thoughts, "I think their memories of the girl should be taken."

Hera smiles at me. "Again, you live up to your title. I will be finished in the morning." She heads back to her own quarters, now brought to finish a difficult task. And I am left to think about what I have just done.

**[1]: If there's a Bridgeport in FL, don't own it.**

**[2]: If this is a real phone number, don't own. Just used for story purposes. Probably shouldn't call that number, either, okay?**


	5. Ally Dawson, Phone Home

(Yo! *laughs* Nope, can't be serious on that one. So, hey, check out this story by **amillipede**. It's a crossover exactly in the same section as this one, and it's called: **No Turning Back. **Summary, anyone? Oh, look, I got that too: _**On returning to Camp, Percy and his friends discover that Octavian will attack in a month. To prepare, everyone is sent to different places to find all the help they can get. Meanwhile, Austin and Ally are have just gotten back from tour and are now focusing on their music. But when they meet two certain demigods, their lives are forever changed, and there's no turning back. **_So, check it out, and leave a review if you want. It's amazing…gosh; I use that word a lot! And I highly recommend it! I hope everyone had some good holidays…like Thanksgiving, Black Friday…Cyber Monday's coming up, and my birthday's on Friday! Yay for holidays! Oh, and sorry about that cliffhanger. I'll stop typing this note now.)

AUSTIN:  
Austin woke up at home. He reached to the bedside table, hoping to locate his phone, and end that alarm's blaring madness. But it's not there. Austin sat up, groaning, and finally surrendered his eyes to the bright sunlight. Austin got in late last night; apparently he took a little road trip with Trish and Dez—and didn't tell his parents! Ha! The funny thing is though; he doesn't remember any of it. His brain must have been on overload; it was really fuzzy, memory-wise.

He pulled on last night's jeans, some red, white, black, and blue high tops, and a red shirt over an undershirt. As he clambered down the stairs, he yells, "Mom, what's for breakfast?"

"Honey, breakfast was two hours ago. Go to Mini's, I've just finished putting the pancakes away." Good thing it was the weekend.

"Fine, but have you seen my phone?" Austin lost it at least once a day.

"It's here on the counter. It keeps ringing, something like a West Virginia number." Austin could hear it now, his first single ever, Double Take, sung out the speakers to his mother in response to her talking.

"Got it." He picked it up, just as it stops ringing, and they don't leave a message. Oh, well. Austin kissed his mother on the cheek, and got out the door. The mall was calling his name, big-time. Something like, mini pancakes just sound so good right now. And a milkshake. Oh, and Sonic Boom…best music store ever! Austin wanted to go see if Mr. Dawson needed help today—he really needed to hire someone. Hopefully Trish didn't get there before him.

The mall surprised Austin today, not like usual. It all seems new, and something is really bugging him, something in the back of his mind. Like something should be there that's not, like a person—a girl with dark hair, I think. Her name is on the tip of his tongue, as he got into his car, start it up, and drive away, just like any other day. Right?

Austin got to Mini's, but wasn't so hungry anymore. The girl's face was there, and still bugged the heck out of him. He walked to Sonic Boom, and hoped she would go away, after he got some music into his system. "Mr. Dawson!" he yelled as he walked into the store. "Need any help today?"

Mr. Dawson walked out of his office. "Oh, Austin, just the person I needed to see. I wanted to offer you a job. I thought I hired someone a while ago, but I guess not, and I don't want to hire Trish—ever." He ran his hand through his graying hair. "Please?"

"My ears are ringing. Were you talking about me?" Trish walked through the doors with Dez.

"Sure." Austin said, and turned to his friends. "Guess who got a job at Sonic Boom?" He didn't know why he said that—he forgot why, but he laughed anyway.

"Me? Really, Austin?" Trish seemed unsure of herself, and Dez, too, more than usual.

"Do you guys remember anything on that road trip?" he asked finally. He still didn't remember anything.

"Yeah, we went to Bridgeport to see that huge statue." Dez said in his 'duh' voice. "Don't you guys remember that?"

Austin scratched his head, trying hard, until his memory surfaced a single, tall, green statue. Trish nodded too. But something still wasn't right. "Do you remember a girl with dark hair?"

No one nodded, Austin must have been crazy, by the looks he got. "A girl—with dark hair? Austin, did you meet someone in Bridgeport? This is a job for the Love Whisperer!" Dez wrapped his arm around Austin's shoulders, and was about to lead Austin upstairs to the practice room, but Trish shoved him out of the way. "Not so fast, ginger. Austin has a job now!"

"Yeah!" Mr. Dawson added. "He is wasting precious chicken fingers now! Thank you, Trish!"

Trish didn't respond. An adult thanking her was too embarrassing—unless they're offering money. Then they're her favorite person.

Austin's phone rang again; he pulled the phone out of his pocket, and checked the number. West Virginia again, same as last time. He clicked 'ANSWER', but he wasn't sure why. This just wasn't his day. "Hello?" he said slowly.

"Austin, it's Ally." A girl's voice answered him, loud and clear, but something was definitely wrong, judging by her tone of voice.

"Excuse me? I don't know anyone, by the name of Ally, sorry." He was very unsure now. His brains were liquid, and now he had a splitting headache, was it true phones could cause radiation?

"Austin, I don't have time for games." Ally's voice was serious, and sad now. "I miss you, and I don't know if I can do this without you—ever. You're my partner."

"Who are you? What are you saying?' He clutched his forehead stronger. The headache was taking over, and his knees were getting weak, like he was going to black out.

"I'm saying I love you." But it was too late. Austin was already halfway to the floor, cold, and hot, and unconscious. He had fainted.

ALLY:

He was gone, and she knew it. She heard the screams, and the dead line as the phone smashed into the ground. The monsters had gotten to them; too late for anyone now, besides her mom. Penny was in Africa. The monsters were not; at least she thought they weren't.  
But what did she know now? That she was dangerous. She was a toxic person, and she had gone and called her friends, without Annabeth's permission, and now they were gone themselves. Why, why did she have to be like this? She didn't ask for this, she didn't even know 72 hours ago!?

Now Ally was stuck—forever, while her father, her friends, and the boy she loved were dead. Hanging up the pay phone, she ran back to the coffee shop where she left Annabeth, and sank into a chair beside her friend. "Where have you been?" Annabeth asked.

"Nowhere." Her eyes were blank, vacant, but she didn't cry. She was a Greek demigod, and now a warrior, fighting for survival, and redemption.

ATHENA:

I sit next to Hera, as she continues the memory charm as before. She didn't expect Ally to actually speak to Austin. "She's an interesting girl, she is. She's got the determination, the fire in her eyes. I can see why you saved her. It was hard, the first time, with the memories her friends have of her. She's very attached to them, and she's everywhere in their memories. Although that boy, Austin, it seems he has feelings for her too, so that didn't help. He still has a impression of her in his mind, but that's the best I could do, even with replacing his phone, and his car." She laughs to herself, as if this is a joke in itself.

I only nod as I watch Ally below, as her eyes harden, as she hears the things we replaced, the screams and the shattering of glass, and the hard crashes of flesh and furniture on the ground, and the line go dead. I know this is the right choice after all. Ally has become a warrior, out for blood.

Austin is fine, we only knocked him unconscious, and Mr. Dawson took him to the hospital. He will be fine, as the prophecy predicts:

The girl who is least of all to be of blood,

The one saved by hunter of night, and goddess of wisdom,

Protected by the spell of mortal life,

Bound by revenge,

Saved by the girl who is a storm of gray,

And has the hand to bring down the keeper of all fallen monsters.

Ally is meant to bring down Tartarus—forever. He's planning his own attack on Olympus, and the time to act is now. The keeper is meant to unleash all monsters on the world, and destroy the gods; to sentence them to their own despair in his lands. But she can save us, she can protect us. Ally Dawson is our survival.

(So, good, bad? Leave a review if you like the prophecy sealing Ally's fate. If not, I'll see what I can do.)


	6. Trailblazing, Literally

(So, you guys loved it, I guess, I'm standing on the ground of two reviews here. Which isn't bad, not bad at all! I want to thank everyone and shared their thoughts, and I just wanted to answer a few of them:

**honesthannah- Omigosh! Is it okay that I'm starstruck—again?! You wrote a bunch of my favorite stories—like Superstar, and Love Comes Around. I highly recommend her new story, "The Plan". It's currently being rewritten, but who cares? It'll be awesomesauce either way. Writing gets better with revising, I think!**

**OrangeKitty81516- I'm pretty sure you were one of the first people who followed/favorited my story, so I'm glad you gave my story a chance, and I'm glad you like it!**

**amillipede- You rock, and you're one in a million! You make the A&A characters so realistic, and I'm so glad you like it. I wish I could write like you.**

On to the story, I guess! Got nothing else to say. But I don't own Austin & Ally, otherwise it would have a crossover with Liv & Maddie, and The Fosters.)

ANNABETH:

We made it to Long Island—just across the border—and Austin's car died, literally. "How did it just die?" Ally asked. Clearly, she didn't do her Mythology homework. "The gods are meddling in our lives—again. Apparently you are quite interesting to them. When I heard about you, and your life, I wondered: Could this be the girl that doesn't want her fate? Or doesn't accept it? But now, something's different. What happened back in West Virginia?"

Ally sighed, and held back the tears as best she could. "They're dead. My friends, my father. Monsters attacked them, when I called them back in West Virginia."

"You CALLED them?" I said. "Ally, you know monsters can track us by phones!"

"Annabeth, I used a pay phone." Ally rolled her eyes, "Plus I don't think they exactly want to be my friends anymore."

"What do you mean?" I asked.  
"Austin—he said he didn't remember me, and he seemed serious. I said I didn't have time for games, and then he d-d-died. I heard him fall to the ground, and the screams, after I told him I loved him."

"Whoa, whoa. He didn't remember you?" I stuck out my hand. "Give me your phone." I knew she still had it. It was probably tucked away in her floral tote bag, sitting at her feet, with that brown worn leather book of hers. When she agreed to come with her, Ally had jumped from a second-story window, and dropped that book, and wouldn't let Annabeth touch it.

Ally grabbed her bag, and she rummaged for it fast. She finally lifted it out, a silver smartphone covered with a black music note sticker, and slapped it into her palm. I scrolled through the contact list, hitting a name, and pressed the green 'CALL' button. "Who are you calling?!" Ally whisper-yelled.

"Austin." I lifted the phone to my ear. "Hi, is Austin there? This is Annabeth Chase from Austin's school. We're working on a project for English together, and I have some questions. Okay, thank you." I said to Ally, "That was his mom, apparently Austin's home sick—Oh, hey, Austin! It's Annabeth! We go to school together. Do you remember Ally? Ally Dawson? No? You don't. You should." I spoke into the phone with precise word choice. "She loves you."

AUSTIN:

I about dropped the phone at that. "Who is Ally? Who are you? Why do you keep calling me?"

"Ally's been calling you. She wants you to listen to her." Annabeth said. And then all he heard was breathing.

"Austin. It's me, Ally. Do you remember me?" It's West Virginia girl, I can already tell.

"No."

"We're music partners. I'm your songwriter, because you can't really write songs. I love pickles, and you like pancakes. I gave you Dougie the Dolphin, the stuffed animal—" Ah, so that's where that came from. "and you were jealous of my friend, Elliot, when he came to visit me in Miami, you sang a duet with me at the Jungle Café, to help me get over my stage fright—after that, you were my first kiss, you serenaded me in Sonic Boom to tell me how you felt about me, you tried to kiss me under the mistletoe this Christmas,**[2] **and really—I love you." I heard her begin to cry.

This time I did drop the phone. Another headache came on, but less powerful than the other one yesterday. I _couldn't forget. _Not again. Ally was there. I couldn't forget how I felt about her. Not again. Not after Cassidy, Kira, and Piper**[3]**. She was _here. _

"Ally!" I cried into the phone. "I will always love you." I could tell someone was taking over my mind again, telling me to stop, telling her to stop, to forget. But I fought hard, to say those words. And I blacked out again.

ALLY:

As soon as the words came to me, I knew he was done, unconscious, by the gods. "Hera." Annabeth said. "I hate her. She isn't really getting likable with immortal age."

"Why?" I asked.

"She took away my boyfriend's memory too, and my friend Jason's, to make the last Great Prophecy come true, so we could stop the giants."

"I already hate her, and I don't hate anybody!" I said incredulously.

"Really?" Annabeth looked at her. "You hated the giant. Therefore, your previous statement is now deemed false."

"Whhhhhat? Oh-kay, the only thing I hated about the giant was his laughter. And it was just annoying; I didn't exactly hate it." Ally stuttered.

"You threatened to hurt him. With a dagger. If he didn't stop laughing." Annabeth giggled.

"You heard that!?" Ally yelled. "You were inside him!"  
"Hey, I was hanging by a thread, not deaf." They were both laughing now. That's when they heard a knock on the window. And they both saw a flaming Ferrari and a very golden guy.

"Apollo?" Annabeth opened her door a pinch. "Here to save the day again?"

"Ah, Annabeth Chase, I thought I'd recognize that stormy voice anywhere." He laughed to himself as if he had just cracked a joke.

"Oh," Apollo said as he peered inside, "It looks you have a friend with you too." To Ally, he said, "What's your name, demigod?"

"Ally Dawson." I timidly said. The sun god scared me. He was my first god up close, but he definitely wouldn't be my last.

"Oh, so you're that girl." He laughed again. I was really starting to hate laughter.

"What's so funny?" I coldly asked. "Sunburned your tongue on the way down?"

"Ohhh, she's a feisty one," Apollo said, "just like you, Miss Chase. But unfortunately, I'm here to give you two a lift to Camp Half-Blood." He pointed to his Ferrari. "The Sun Chariot awaits. Would you care to drive, Miss Dawson?" Apollo gave me a dazzling smile, almost as blinding as the sun itself.

"Nope, Mister Sun Emperor, or Greek god, or whatever your title is." I snidely said. Austin and the rest of the people I love might be alive, but I wasn't taking any more crap than I needed to. "Any more questions for me?"

"Just one: do you need assistance with your luggage, Madame?" I sighed, and grabbed my tote bag, and climbed out of the car, and patted it on the hood. I was going to miss this car—the last thing I had of Austin here with me. Annabeth seemed to understand—I was like she had experienced this before—but with someone else. Didn't she keep mentioning this Percy, her boyfriend? Did something happen to him?

Apollo tried to help me into the Ferrari, but I brushed him off. But that didn't stop him from grabbing my bag. He started rummaging through it, and picked up the worst thing he could have possibly grabbed: my songbook. So what do you think I did: I snatched it out of his hands, of course! "Don't touch my book!"

"Oh, okay, Miss Dawson, sorry." He tries to play the fake-sorry card.

"Just drive." I say as we pile in next to Annabeth and my luggage.

"All righty, then," Apollo pulls on his driving gloves, "Miss Chase, you sure you don't want to commandeer for a bit?"

"Nope, you know what happened last time." Annabeth clenched her teeth, and grabbed my arm for support, as if preparing for a wild ride.

Trust me, I wasn't expecting it either. And, suddenly, I think Apollo had pulled the mystical throttle on purpose, because my teeth are clattering together, my hair is about to yank out of my skull, Annabeth is digging into my arm, which I'm pretty sure is no longer attached to my body, and her nails are REALLY sharp. Plus my brain hurts, in a splintering headache, and my dang skin may be sunburned, due to my Italian skin, if I even have the right ancestry to be Italian anymore. God, I hate the Greek, even if I'm one of them.

**[2]-Austin & Ally episodes: Bloggers & Butterflies, Campers & Complications, Chapters & Choices, and Partners & Parachutes.**

**[3]- Austin had a crush on Cassidy in S1, he dated Kira in S2, and Piper is rumored to be his new girlfriend in S3. **


	7. It All Comes To Light

**(Sorry this is so late, but I had a really busy day, but here it is! And I hope you enjoy, I had a little trouble with it, but in the end, it turned out better than expected! New word count record (including this note): 3,121 words. Woot woot! I would really appreciate if you could please take a moment, and look at my new story, In Between The Lines, too! Give it a chance, please! Thanks! Until next time!)**

ANNABETH:

Apollo crash-landed. Again. Luckily, the water spirits had our back—for the second time in—what, 3, 4 years?—and I was sure Ally was at least part Italian, so I wasn't sure her skin was quite the right color…it was a bit red—okay, a lot. But you can't blame the Greeks for that…at least not for the skin parts of the equation.

Apollo surfaced last, and breathed a sigh of relief. "Gods, I forgot how hot I could really be." He stared at me, and I stared at him. "What?" he asked.

"You are so self-centered." Ally said, and winced as she tried to swim over to the edge of the lake. I felt bad—it was my fault Ally had to come with me. I dragged her into this demigod stuff, before I even knew if she even wanted to accept her ancestry, and what she was. Nope, I was the bad guy—the no-friends-calling, sun-chariot-riding jerk who didn't even take a moment to ask Ally if she wanted this. I tread over to her, grabbing her arm gently, and dragging her to shore carefully. The water spirits pushed us along, giggling and laughing at Ally, which isn't funny, but they're water spirits, which mean they like to joke around, and they're already doing enough by pushing us toward shore—we'd be going a lot slower if they weren't—and they recovered the chariot too! What more can I ask for?  
I saw Percy running down the sand, toward us. He led a herd of campers—I see new recruits—we always need more of those—the Stoll twins, Leo, Piper, Jason is visiting, I saw, and a lot of Ares kids. They always like flaming Ferrari fireballs falling from the sky—a day in the life of a Greek demigod, right?

We reached the shore, and the water spirits spit us—literally—onto the sand. Ally coughed, and sat up first. "Where are we?" She has tan streaking her hair from the sand, and her skin doesn't look any better than it did, when we were in the water. Apollo said, "Hello, children. Quite sunny, today, right? You're welcome. When you burn your food tonight, remember that Apollo likes Butterfingers. Not Mr. Goodbar." He glared at a boy who I think is named Thomas. "I think I'll say hi to dear old Chiron, and then be on my way." He stood up, brushed off his red silk pants, and walked up the shore.

"Good riddance." Ally muttered, "Now can somebody answer my question?"

Percy smiled at her. Something growled in my stomach, and it definitely wasn't hunger. I couldn't be jealous of Ally—I mean, she has Austin—right? Hopefully he doesn't have his brains turned to goo now, three times of memory wipe has got to feel horrible. It had to be easier for Jason and Percy. They didn't have cell phones.

"Welcome to Camp Half-Blood." Percy's eyes flickered to me for a second. He always made me feel this way—these little moments, pure seconds of frozen time. "This is a camp for kids like you, we—" he gestured to the crowd around us, "we are all demigods here, and some parts of us will be your new family, your new support group, while you stay at camp."

Ally looked at me. "You are the leader of this place?"

Percy chuckled good-naturedly. "Nope."

"You're Percy, aren't you?" Ally asked.

"Wow, am I famous in Miami?" He laughed, and helped me up. "What have you been telling people these days?" Percy asked me, as he pulled me into a kiss. It was sweet, and reminded me of what I had missed so much about Camp.

It lasted a bit longer, before I grew alert of all the eyes watching us there, particularly Ally's. I pulled away, and said, "Ally can't stay red forever, you know." I walked away from him, and offered my hand to Ally. "Let's get you cleaned up." Ally took my hand, and dusted off her jeans as she stood.

I took her to the Big House, and sat her on the front porch, while I went to grab some nectar, ambrosia, and hopefully burn cream. But as I quietly entered the house, I realized Apollo was still talking to Chiron, and what they were talking about piqued my interest.

"Come on, Chiron, you and I both know what that girl is. She doesn't have anything necessary to fight Tartarus. He's the embodiment of evil—literally. Ally doesn't stand a chance unless we do exactly what the prophecy says to do. And she needs to be claimed. But Artemis can't. She can't have any children, and Athena won't either. She's too ashamed to, and without the blonde boy knowing anything, Ally won't stay here."

Chiron sighed at Apollo. Not his favorite god either, I guess. "Apollo," he said, "I'm not getting involved. Prophecies happen with time, they're not meant to be forced on a person. If you want Ally to be claimed, you talk to Athena. Not me. Now get out of my camp." He pointed at the living room entrance. I quickly passed before Apollo could reach the doorway, and suspect anything—not that he would. Too smart of him.

I busied myself, grabbing the nectar and ambrosia first. As I dug in the cupboard above for some burn cream, I heard a very familiar voice. "You spied on them, didn't you?" I turned fast, almost hitting my head on the open door.

"Rachel?" I asked. The new Oracle went to a all-girls private school in New Hampshire, and we weren't expecting her back for weeks. She fiddled with the hem of a white tank top, and at closer inspection, you could see that her dark jeans were drawn on in ink. "What are you doing here?"

"Annabeth." She said it in a warning tone even I couldn't muster. "You know why I'm here. You know about Ally."

"Know what about me?" Ally's voice came from behind us.

"That you are the songwriter for Austin Moon!" Rachel cried. In a instant, she had transformed from Rachel, artsy Oracle, into a star-crazed Aphrodite camper. Good thinker, she was. If she hadn't been the Oracle, she would be an Athena camper. "Omigosh! I'm Rachel! It's so nice to finally be able to meet you!" And with that, she led Ally away, probably back outside. I grabbed the supplies, and dashed to follow them. I wasn't missing any of this, no matter what.

I caught up with them by the basketball courts, talking about music, probably. Some Aphrodite campers had just joined them, talking and gushing over Ally's talent to sing and write. "I mean, Double Take is the best! It's the original!" One girl sang out loud to the rest of them.

"Excuse me," I said, cutting through the crowd, and giving Ally the medicine. "Drink the nectar, eat the ambrosia, and apply this on your burns." She did as I said, and within a little while—after escaping the Aphrodite campers and Rachel—her arms and face were looking less worse for wear. I had been showing her around camp, but was saving the best for last. "Do you want to see the Athena cabin?" I asked.

"Of course!" Ally said. "It's where you live and work, so yeah, I would! I want to see where Annabeth Chase truly sleeps." She paused for a moment to look at my face. "What? I was kidding." Ally awkwardly laughed. I laughed too—eventually.

* * *

ALLY:

I was excited to live here, to know Annabeth and I weren't the only demigods in the world was slightly less terrifying. The people were nice here, especially Rachel. We had bonded over music and art for a moment. Her aunt Margo apparently lives in Miami, so she actually knew a lot more about the area than most of the screaming girls here. They chased us around for an hour, until we finally lost them by the lava mountain you can climb here, or something. Those girls really don't like to get their nails broken—well, some of them, anyway.

Annabeth is a truly great person. She gave up an entire afternoon with her boyfriend, Percy, who is apparently the only demigod son of Poseidon—ever! So cool! I never knew someone who would ever do that for me, nerdy Ally Dawson. Okay, someone besides Austin, I guess. He gave up time with Kira, even Piper, the fashion model**[1]**!

"Ally!" she called from the doorway of an ordinary gray cabin, with an owl painted over the door. I ran to catch up with her, but the outside of the cabin was an understatement to the inside. All I saw were MacBooks**[2]** and Smartboards**[3]**, with models, and maps, and books. I had never been in so much heaven before. I loved to read, even for school. I loved to learn in general too; it felt like belonged here, even if most of the kids had blonde or black hair, and gray eyes while I didn't, but what does it matter? If they say I'm a demigod, don't I belong?

Tonight was a bonfire, and a chance to see whom my godly parent is. I was rooting for Athena at that point, as I touched the spines of the books in the corner. So many I had heard about, so many I haven't even read. I looked back at Annabeth, but she is still leaned against the doorframe, the crease in her forehead telling that she was in deep thought.

"Annabeth!" Percy rushed toward the cabin. He always seemed to be moving, no matter what. "The Hunters are here!" He pointed toward the entrance of camp, where a gang of silver-clad girls, all bearing bow and arrows, were passing through. One stuck out though; a black-haired girl, with a choppy pixie cut, and dark electric blue streaks stood at the front, guiding the girls through the madness of campers rushing to see the new arrivals. But they weren't even fazed; most looked tough, and worn with battle on their faces, and postures.

Annabeth looked startled, as if knocked out of a trance. She must have been a deep thinker. "The Hunters? Why? And on such short notice! Thalia would have at least sent an Iris message, or at least a magic scroll, or someone from her ranks ahead to warn us!"

"Annabeth, they're here now…" Percy sighed. He must have dealt with this a thousand times with Annabeth, you could tell by the look on his face. "There's nothing we can do. But don't you want to greet Thalia? She is your old friend, and Jason's sister. It would be polite, plus Ally can meet some people!" He smiled at her. Annabeth seemed to melt a little for a moment, and then regained her composure.

"All right, Seaweed Brain! But just for a moment. I'm in the middle of something!" Percy's smile turned into a grin, as he pulled Annabeth out of the cabin. "Thalia!" he called. Thalia was cautious, but soon smiled back at Annabeth, and Percy as they approached closer. Annabeth wrapped her arms around Thalia carefully; Percy followed suit. "How are you?"

"Good; we were tracking a monster around Coney Island, and we decided to drop in and stay the night, before heading on our way. Some of us are injured too, so medical attention, and a warm meal couldn't hurt either. I took a closer look; some seemed to be covered in some kind of boils. Annabeth waved them toward the Apollo cabin. "It's good to see you both." Thalia pulled away from them, and looked around the camp. Her eyes seemed focused on me for a moment, and then flitted away, as she had never seen me leaning in the Athena cabin doorway. "everything seems to be running smoothly."

"Yeah!" Percy jumped in, "It's been great—but crazy busy. In fact, Annabeth just came back from getting a new demigod a few hours ago!" Percy waved me forward from the shadows, to come join them. When I approached them, Percy put his hand on my shoulder, giving me a reassuring squeeze. Annabeth has a really good boyfriend. He really reminds me of Austin. Austin. My heart starts aching, at the sound of his name, even if it's in my thoughts. "This is Ally. Ally Dawson. She's from Miami." I smiled softly at Thalia. She didn't return the favor. Instead she squinted at me, and looked me up and down.

"Nice to meet you." she finally said, eyes startlingly focused on mine.

* * *

Annabeth apparently didn't get the message that Thalia didn't like me. Instead, she asked Thalia to watch me after the bonfire—where I didn't get claimed, by Athena, or otherwise—because she had things to attend to in her cabin, like catching up on architecture, and with her cabinmates. To my surprise, Thalia actually agreed, saying Annabeth deserved that, after such a hard mission—no joke, her real words—and that she'd take me to see her pine tree. Whatever that was, it piqued my interest a little. I mean, I heard Thalia used to be a regular demigod, daughter of Zeus, but as her sixteenth birthday was fast approaching, she decided to join the Hunters of Artemis, and be immortal forever—letting Percy be the one to fulfill the first Great Prophecy two years later. She also has a "younger" brother, Jason, who is 15 too, and actually Roman, a son of Zeus's other counterpart, Jupiter. He's also dating Piper, an Aphrodite camper, who helped Annabeth and the others complete the second Great Prophecy, but I didn't know she planted a pine tree on the camp grounds!

It turned out I was completely wrong.

As we hiked up the huge green, but muddy hill, she told me her story. "I was that pine tree. I was dead, I died here, protecting Annabeth, and another friend, Luke." She pointed to the huge, protruding roots of the tree. "My father took pity on me, and turned my body into a pine tree." Thalia put her hand gently on the big, rough trunk. "For years, I remained in this state, until Percy went on a quest to retrieve the Golden Fleece, when the tree was poisoned, and it's magical properties restored my human life." Thalia looked back at me.

"Do you know why we actually came here?" Thalia finally asked.

I shook my head. "Why should I know?"

"Because my patron sent me here to find you."

"So? What does Artemis know about me that I don't?"

"She knows that she used her powers, along with Athena's help, to save you and your parents' lives." Thalia's eyes darkened, like lightning getting ready to strike. "I brought you here to show you the price of being resurrected."

"So Artemis is my godly parent?"

"In a way, yes."

"Then why hasn't she claimed me?"

"Because she's a virgin goddess. She chooses not to have children."

"What's wrong with one?" I asked.

"Because it's wrong, and because you're not her child."

"You just said I was."

"I said,_ in a way._"

"So then who is?"

Thalia doesn't answer. Instead she watches as the pine needles on the ground began to rise in the air, and whip around us. Then she pointed above my head—a hologram of a golden owl appeared above my head, displaying golden light like a halo around my face. "Because you're Athena's."

"How, then?" i began to get impatient. "Tell me already!"

"Because to save you, Athena had to think about you, to save your life. You're a thought. Just a thought brought to life." Thalia sneered in my face.

I ran down the hill, back into camp. I had to find Annabeth. The whole scene was blurry, and started to close in on me as I began to hyperventilate. I stumbled along the main strip of cabins. I had to find her. I ran into the Athena cabin, and that's all I remembered, before I woke up.

* * *

The Artemis cabin was just two cabins down. I didn't know how I got into the Athena cabin, lying on a bunk. My eyes opened with Apollo campers surrounding me, concerned. I stood up, and pushed past them, running toward the reflective silver building. Annabeth had to be there, I just knew it. But when I burst in, I saw something very unexpected. All the Hunters, including Annabeth, were gathered around a single, long, dark wood table, looking over a brown leather book with a pink 'A' engraved on it, and a dark haired girl, the only one seated, was talking, and turned toward the door to look at me. In fact, everyone did, looking like frightened deer in headlights. But only the girl, the only one seated, a Hunter with her silver uniform, and bow, mattered. And she knew it. "Ally?" She grabbed my book, and closed it slowly. But the cover popped back up, it was so water-marked, and ruined, it wouldn't stay down. They found my book, and touched it. That girl holding it knew how much it meant to me.

"Nelly." I confirmed. The entire room was stone-silent.

**[1]-Kira, you probably know who she is...Piper is rumored to first appear in the S3 episode, Fashion Shows & First Impressions, so I made her a model, okay?**

**[2]-Technically, I own a MacBook, (in fact, typing on it right now) but I didn't create them.**

**[3]-I didn't create Smartboards, but sometimes in school, I wish I did.**


	8. How It All Came Around

(Hey, guys, Merry Christmas, or Happy Hanukkah, if you celebrate it. Now this chapter is a gift, from me to you on this very fine day here. Some of you readers have questions on how Ally was "a thought" of Athena's, so I'll explain it so it makes more sense to you, if you were wondering: Athena is a virgin goddess, meaning she chooses to have children a different way. To have children, she thinks about them, and the child springs from her thoughts, into reality, exactly how she was born in mythology, from Zeus's head. Anyway, I was disappointed about the number of the reviews I got on the last chapter. I worked really hard on it, and I expected more people to give feedback. I'm sorry if this is annoying you, but this has been bugging me for a few days, so I just wanted to let you know, and now on with the story! Word count: 2,252 words.)

ALLY:

"What?" Thalia addressed both of us sharply. "How do you know each other?" I was afraid that if Annabeth didn't close her mouth, flies would begin to assault her mouth. Nelly looked at me, shell-shocked, but she stayed silent. I guessed it was up to me then.

"Nelly is my cousin." I said loudly; my voice echoed around the cabin, bouncing off the dark wood-paneled walls. "Now answer my question Nell: why are you touching my book?"  
Nelly weakly cracked a smile. "I could also ask you what you're doing here, Alls."

"I'm a demigod. You're one too?" I couldn't hold back my surprise at this. My cousin, a Hunter of Artemis! She couldn't even do the dishes without fear of losing glittery shine in her nails. Oh my gods. Nelly is a daughter of Aphrodite.

"You—Your mother is Aphrodite!" I shouted at her. My entire body was shaking with rage. "My entire life has been a lie! My parents, my family, my heritage, my life has been taken from me. But all for what?" I turned to Annabeth. She looked frightened at my reaction. "To be a Greek; to be a daughter of Athena."

"Ally, calm down!" Nelly tried to push me into a chair, "Sit down, and listen to me." The adrenaline was wearing off in my veins, and finally, I relented. I sat in the chair, and looked Nelly straight in the eye.

"Tell me everything you know." Nelly looked at Thalia for consent. Thalia nodded sharply. She looked back at me, she wasn't afraid. Neither was I. Nelly took a deep breath in.

"All right, Alls." She pulled up her chair right in front of mine, and finally as she sat there, she began to speak.

* * *

NELLY:

"Ally is my cousin." I began softly, as a tread on soft grass. "Her mother, Penny is my stepmother's sister. Her name is Sally, and on my birthday this year, Aphrodite came to me in a dream. She told me a story, about my dad, and how they met at the pavilion in some park in Georgia one day. Sally was at home in Wisconsin, because my father's job had sent him on a business trip there. When they met, it was like Sally was never there, and he wasn't married, and Aphrodite wasn't a famous Greek goddess—not that he knew, of course. They fell in love in a hour, talking about the history and romance of Charleston—that was the name of the town, I believe." Annabeth turned a whiter shade of pale. Did she know that place?

"Over the course of three days, they met there, and on the fourth day, he went home to Sally. He didn't tell anyone about the beauty he had met, and fallen in love with in Georgia, nor did he ever forget her. Then, nine months later, Sally went to the hospital, and had a baby. But she didn't have one. Sally was never pregnant. The baby that was born was me, but Aphrodite used magic to make sure I was a mortal's child—or to have people at least think I was." I was crying now, silent tears running down my tan cheeks. "But I knew, I think, I wasn't normal. The way my eyes never stayed one color, and the way love was to me." I was obsessed with fashion. Every time Ally came to visit our extended family in Minnesota, and Wisconsin, she had tried to wrangle her into quite a few outfits—for a girl two years older than me, I'm tough to get off of you, when I have a mascara wand in my hand. But now she seems to have figured that stuff out on her very own.  
"A satyr arrived at my house to take me to Camp the next day, and tried to take me to Long Island." I said. "He died trying to save me. Monsters were surrounding me, and suddenly, there was silver light coming from all directions. It was the Hunters. Thalia saved my life, Ally. She protected me, and that is a debt that I can never repay, so I joined the Hunters, and gave up everything that used to be important to me: the nails, the shoes, the clothes, the hair. I'm not Nelly Mills anymore; I'm just Nelly."

Ally asked, "Were you ever claimed?" I nod.

"Right after I decided to join the Hunters. I think Mom was giving her blessing to my decision, as well as everything else." I stop talking. I can't tell Ally about the prophecy. I can't tell her I'm giving information to the Greeks about her. I can't tell her she might die….

* * *

ALLY:

My mom and I thought Nelly had gone to boarding school in Los Angeles, at least that's what Aunt Sally, and Uncle Henry told us, when we went up to see them after a long year's absence. That was right after Nelly's birthday, and right before my mother went to Africa to study the gorillas in the wild. After so many months without contact, and all this stuff with Austin—romance and music alike—I had forgotten about Nelly. "Los Angeles, huh?" I said, with a bit of a teasing laugh. I smiled at my cousin thoughtfully.

"Yeah, The Silver Academy of Girls Through 9th -12th Grades. I came up with the name, slapped on a fake seal on some official paper, and left the house a few weeks later, after Dad read it, and said I could go. I said I was taking a plane, and then caught up with the Hunters in Colorado. Avalanches still give me the creeps." Nelly shivered to herself. I didn't bother to ask why.

"He didn't ask to go with you?" I asked.

"Dad said I could handle myself, as long as I called him once I got there." Nelly shrugged. "I did, and now usually I send him a letter every few weeks to avoid suspicion. I have a P.O. box in Los Angeles that I use and check once a month, usually."

"No asking to visit?" I said.

"I told him that the school doesn't allow visitors, except twice a year."

"You have really thought this through. Are you sure you're Nelly Mills?" I waved my hand in front of her face. "Last time I checked, you were failing reading and math for the second year in a row."

Nelly didn't even bat an eye. "Last time I saw you, you were pining over a guy from the cell phone accessory cart in the mall." She meant to be teasing, but the mention of Dallas just brings back Austin. My heart breaks, my eyes go blank, I couldn't look at Nelly. I just knew if I didn't get out, I would burst into tears. I ran from the cabin for probably the second time in an hour. As I ran to Thalia's pine tree, I realized no one had bothered to chase after me. I sunk down to the dirt, leaning my back to the white trunk, and finally disappearing in my own reality of tears and thoughts of my friends, family, and Miami. I knew I needed to get out—tonight.

* * *

ATHENA:

Ally has been claimed, she is my child. But now, as I try to sleep, I am just reminded of her birth:

_It's a cold, wintery night, in Wisconsin. A young woman with brown hair, and a man with graying hair are driving down a silent road, in the dead of night. At a closer look, inside the car, the woman appears to be going into labor. The car begins to head across a tan, old-fashioned bridge. Below them, is a river, not quite frozen, not quite thawed yet. You can see the dark water; hear the roar of its currents. Near the end of the bridge, on the pavement of the road, a deer runs out in front of the car, spooking the man and his wife. The man swerves, to try and avoid the deer, but it's already too late. The man has lost control of the vehicle, and the slippery road causes the car to slam into the side of the bridge, which crumbles, and the car begins to slip into the water. _

_ A girl wearing silver, and carrying a bow, emerges from the wooded area ahead of the bridge, and sees the car, about to topple into the darkness below. With remarkable speed, the dark-haired girl races to the vehicle, just hanging by a thread now, and tries to help the people inside. She is able to rescue the man, but the woman is left, trapped inside, pinned between the dashboard, a chair, and her dented-in door, smashed from the impact of hitting the bridge side. _

_ The girl begins to give up, seeing that there's no point. The car lands solidly in the water, making a splash rise up, and assault the bridge with water. The man spits out mouthfuls of water, while the girl searches for the vehicle. The man doesn't seem to notice the girl; instead he calls out his wife's name below frantically. There's no response from the darkness._

_ An owl circles the bridge, screeching at the girl to follow. Curiously, the girl tracks the animal's movements to the rocky shoreline beneath the bridge, where a black-haired woman is kneeling next to the brown-haired woman. The woman with the brown hair is unconscious, and the black-haired woman's brow furrows with concentration as she thinks about how to help the unconscious woman, who is also pregnant with a baby girl. "Athena?" the girl in silver asks expectantly. "I should have known you'd come to help me. Can you save her?" she gestures to the woman lying on the ground._

_ "Perhaps, but this woman is with child, and her lifeforce is fading by the minute. It'll take both of our combined powers to save both their lives, Artemis." Athena focuses on the child within the woman. She imagines it within her head, a power so strong; it nearly blinds her own mind. But the deed is done. Athena must complete the task. Transferring her own power to the woman, she begins to detach the baby from the woman mentally, and at what seems moments later, Artemis is holding a baby in her silver-clad arms. Athena bends to the woman's chest, and hears a weak, but steady heartbeat._

_ Artemis gasps out, "You've done it, Athena! You have saved the child, and the woman, without any help! That's never been done before!" _

_ Athena is weak; her own mind throbs with tiredness. "Get them to the hospital, Artemis. Once you do, unsure that they are safe, and meet me on Olympus. No one must know what I have done."_

_ Penny and Lester Dawson both awoke in the hospital, with a pink-clad bundle of joy in their midst, the next morning. Both of them felt fuzzy in their minds; neither of them remembered the accident that had nearly ended all of their lives. Artemis and Athena never spoke of that night, until Hera came to her quarters that one fateful night. "I know what you've done," she spoke, "I know you saved that baby 16 years ago, in that car crash, and I know she is meant to be a part of a prophecy."_

_ "Leave my quarters, Hera!" Athena roared. "This is not your place, nor your time!"  
"But you and I both know what she is, and what she can become. Ally Dawson is nothing but normal, and I can make sure of that. When you need my services, find me in the gardens." Hera said, before closing the grand marble doors of Athena's quarters behind her._

* * *

And that began, the fateful night, to make Ally Dawson a demigod. Her fate was set in stone, whether she liked it, or not.

**(Okay, so I'm tired, it's Christmas Eve, and it's 11:49 PM here, and I haven't gone to bed yet, running the risk of being yelled at, for you guys. I hope you enjoy, happy holidays! I am now going to sleep tight…)**


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